Preview: Georgetown at Syracuse

February 22, 2013|Reuters

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Preview: Georgetown at Syracuse

Georgetown visits Syracuse on Saturday for their last official meeting at the Carrier Dome as Big East members, but the game offers more than a trip down memory lane. A share of first place is on the line with the teams in a three-way tie with Marquette atop the Big East, and a record crowd of 35,012 is expected to pack the Carrier Dome. Georgetown has won eight straight games since its surprising loss to South Florida, while Syracuse has won four of its last five.

The Hoyas are surging behind the play of reigning Big East player of the week Otto Porter, who averaged 18.5 points and seven rebounds in wins over Marquette and Cincinnati last week. The sophomore forward was limited with a sore knee in the Hoyas' 90-66 win over DePaul on Wednesday, but he's expected to be at full strength against the Orangemen. The Hoyas have dropped their last two games against Syracuse, which hasn't lost at the Carrier Dome this season.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, CBS.

ABOUT NO. 11 GEORGETOWN (20-4, 10-3 Big East): The game figures to be a defensive battle, with both teams holding opponents under 60 points per game. Guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 33 points against DePaul, giving him the highest total by a Georgetown freshman since 1996. Porter leads the team in scoring (15.1) and rebounding (7.7), but Smith-Rivera has become a dangerous threat while averaging 12.1 points in the last 11 games. Syracuse figures to focus on Porter, so the Hoyas will need big games from guard Markel Starks and forward Nate Lubick. The latter leads the Big East in field goal percentage (60.8), while Starks is the team's top 3-point shooter.

ABOUT NO. 8 SYRACUSE (22-4, 10-3): The Orangemen leads the series with Georgetown 46-38, and they've won 38 consecutive home games. Point guard Michael Carter-Williams posted his eighth double-double of the season in the team's 84-59 win over Providence on Wednesday, but he's averaged 28 percent shooting and committed a total of 15 turnovers in Syracuse's four losses. Junior forward C.J. Fair averages 7.2 rebounds, and Syracuse should have the edge inside the paint. The Orangemen are not a strong 3-point shooting team, but senior forward James Southerland is shooting 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. Junior guard Brandon Triche leads the team with 14.9 points per game.

TIP-INS

1. The Orangemen are 1-3 in Big East play when Carter-Williams has fewer than five assists.

2. Georgetown has limited 10 of its last 11 opponents to below 40 percent shooting from the field.

3. Syracuse freshman C Dajuan Coleman will be available after missing the last six games with a knee injury. Coleman started the first 20 games and averaged five points and 4.4 rebounds.